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The Survivor
' |image= |series= |production=22005 |producer(s)= |story= |script=James Schmerer |director=Hal Sutherland |imdbref=tt0832428 |guests=Ted Knight as Vendorian (Carter Winston) |previous_production=Beyond the Farthest Star |next_production=The Lorelei Signal |episode=TAS A06 |airdate=13 October 1973 |previous_release=More Tribbles, More Troubles |next_releaseThe Infinite Vulcan |story_date(s)=Stardates 5143.3-5148.6 |previous_story=More Tribbles, More Troubles |next_story=The Infinite Vulcan }} =Summary= While patrolling near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise finds a small private ship manned by a Vendorian, an alien species that can transform its shape at will. The alien dupes the crew on board the Enterprise into thinking that it is actually Carter Winston, a Federation citizen and philanthropist who has been missing for five years. Once aboard, the Vendorian renders Captain James T. Kirk unconscious, takes his form and orders the helmsman, Lt. Hikaru Sulu to steer the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone, where Romulan warbirds lie in wait. When the real Kirk eventually regains consciousness, he orders the Enterprise to get out of the Neutral Zone at Warp 8. The Vendorian who has been shapeshifting himself into other members of the Enterprise's crew eventually reveals itself to Lieutenant Anne Nored, Carter Winston's fiancee who serves as a security officer aboard the Enterprise; the alien further states that the real Winston is dead but, because it has absorbed Carter's feelings for her, it can love her. Around this time, the Romulans attack the Enterprise, and the Vendorian—realizing that his actions have placed the ship in danger—decides to betray his Romulan masters for love. He takes the form of the Enterprise 's main deflector shield and the Romulans retreat. The Vendorian is arrested and would face trial but Kirk informs him that his actions to protect the Enterprise would be taken into consideration. Nored informs the Vendorian that it is very similar to Winston in personality and she offers to return to Earth with the alien. When Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy jokes that if the Vendorian had turned himself into a second Spock "it would have been too much to take", Spock quickly replies that "two Dr. McCoys just might bring the level of medical efficiency on this ship to acceptable levels." =Errors and Explanations= Nit Central # Benn Allen on Monday, December 27, 1999 - 11:19 am: Spock says the Vendorian can change its molecular structure to mimic anything of roughly the same mass and size. The medical bed and its indicator are of roughly the same size and mass as the Vendorian? Very roughly. The bed may have a lower mass then it appears. # Benn on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 7:42 pm: As the Enterprise approaches Carter Winston's ship, Kirk states in his log entry that Carter's ship was damaged by a meteor swarm. You mean, it was not equipped with deflectors? I'd have thought deflectors would be standard equipment aboard space faring vessels in the Star Trek universe. The deflectors were probably not working properly. # After Spock informs Kirk that the vessel is registered to Carter Winston, McCoy says "That's impossible." Why? "Carter Winston's been missing for over five years." So? Space is awfully big. Getting lost in it would seem to me to be a fairly easy thing to do. There are a lot of ships and outposts in the area, making it difficult for someone to be missing for so long. # Uh, I thought money wasn't supposed to exist in the Trek universe. So how could Carter Winston be wealthy? Of course, he was a trader... Money doesn't exist in the Federation per se, but other cultures use it, including some who trade with the Federation via a credit system. # Carter Winston impersonates Kirk and then goes to the Bridge. There, he orders Sulu to take the Enterprise on a direct course to Rator III. That would take the ship through the Romulan Neutral Zone. Sulu warns the Captain that violating Romulan space will give the Romulans the right to "confiscate" the Enterprise. Somehow, I don't think confiscation is the worst result of crossing the Neutral Zone. I think starting an intergalactic war is the worst result. Perhaps Kirk can persuade the Romulans that their presence was a mistake. # While giving a report on what's appearing on long range scanners, Spock is looking at his control panel. However, in the next shot, he's looking through his hooded screen. Most likely taking a more detailed scan. # After being informed that "he" gave the order to invade Romulan space, why doesn't the Real Captain Kirk countermand that order? He knows it's in violation of Federation treaties. ' ''Mike Nuss on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 8:47 pm: He does. He orders Sulu to plot a course out of the Neutral Zone at warp 8. Obviously it wasn't fast enough as the Romulans caught them anyway.' # Carter goes to Sickbay and encounters McCoy there. Bones is sitting behind a desk and Winston is standing at about 9 o'clock from the doctor. Somehow, without McCoy being aware of it Carter changes into his true Vendorian form and walks behind McCoy to render him unconscious. Apparently Dr. McCoy has a serious lack of peripheral vision. '''He wasn't expecting to be attacked.' # Three crewmen can be seen running through the ship's corridor while Spock is giving orders over the ship's intercom. They must be able to read the Vulcan's mind, they're running even before Spock proclaims "Intruder Alert". Perhaps Spock only makes shipwide announcements during serious situations. # After Carter Wiston disables the deflectors shields of the Enterprise, Sulu announces that the doors to the hangar deck were opening. I assumed that meant that Winston was already on board a shuttle and was getting to launch the shuttle. However, the next time we see Winston, it is in one of the corridors of the Enterprise. Was Carter going to walk through the hangar deck and into a shuttle in the vacuum of space? I assume that's what would happen if he walks through the hangar deck with the bay doors open. Vendorians may have the ability to survive in a vacuum for short periods. # The Enterprise's deflectors are down and need to be repaired. For some strange reason in the midst of this crucial repair work, Scotty finds time to mosey up to the Bridge. Shouldn't he be in Engineering supervising the repair to the deflectors? He may need to visit the bridge as part of the repair process, in order to ensure that the controls work properly. # So much for Scotty multiplying his repair by a factor of four (or whatever it was. I can't remember it off hand.) In this episode, when he tells Kirk the deflectors repairs will take two hours, he apparently meant it. When Kirk congratulates him on getting the shields fixed, Scotty emphasizes that he told the Captain that it would take hours. The repairs may have taken the time he initially stated due to repeated setbacks. # Carter's hair style is very much a Seventies one, isn't it? Some hair styles go in and out of fashion. # Could the Vendorian's tentacles really be used to support it's body and for transportation? Perhaps the Vendorians have a natural gas bladder to ofset the weight. =Sources= Category:The Animated Series Category:Episodes